14th Week

14th week, we have come to the end to this course. The journey of ‘Using and Developing Resources for ESL Classroom has taught me a lot especially in technological aspects. I have learned many new things such as Photo editing, Audio Editing, Video editing and many more which would be very useful or me as the future teacher.

Let’s move into this week’s agenda. This week is fully utilised to view the videos created by our peers. The main aim of this week’s class is to improve on the videos. Pn Foziah also gave time to us to edit and re-upload it in youtube. There were videos from different topics and themes. From the videos, I realised that most of us have put in a lot of effort to create it. On the other hand, there were some videos which need some changes and editing in order to make it more meaningful and to deliver the message it carries. From the module and also the video created, I realised that creating video is not merely using pictures and adding background music to it. A video should be specific on the message or story that it carries. The choice of pictures and also the background music plays an important role in portraying the feeling or emotions of the scenes as well as the whole video.

I personally like the video created by Faiz and his pair. The video was about cancer disease and the way they created the video really amazed me. The video was able to convey the message it carries and the background music that they used were very suitable for their theme.

Next, the date for the test is already set. Pn Foziah reminded us to study and prepare for the test. The test would be a very good practice to apply what we have learned throughout the course as it will be based on applications of the knowledge learned.

All in all this week’s class as well as the overall course was very useful for me to prepare myself to face the challenges in using and developing resources for ESL classroom. The Knowledge learned and gained will not end here as I will be repeatedly use the knowledge in future which eventually provides lifelong learning for me. That’s all from me. Bye...

13th Week

Week 13 of the resources class. Without wasting any time, let’s look into the major events of the day. Ok, this week we have submitted 4 things which are:

1) Module 2
2) Individual work (task 1)
3) Pair work (task 2-eBook)
4) Group work (lesson plans)

Talking about the tasks, it was a good exercise to practice what we have learned in the module. I personally learned a lot about photo editing while doing the tasks rather than doing the module itself. Although software such as photoshop was very difficult for me, later I managed to learn it and I applied it in editing pictures for my tasks. I am really happy that now I have learned and able to use various software to edit photos.

Now let's move on to the next agenda. Currently

we are working on the module 4 which is the video editing. This module is another good instrument as we can learn about video editing by using software such as Cyberlink power director, Cyberlink powerDVD, Windows movie maker, HJ-split and many more. It is really fun working on this module because now I am able to make and edit my own videos.

As we all know, each module comes with some tasks. The same goes to module 4. Pn. Foziah asked us to create a story board for the task 2 which is the pair work before the class itself. Pn. Foziah checked the story board and gave some comments on how to improve it. As for me and my partner, we choose the topic ‘humanity’ and we are still working on it. Hopefully I can apply the skills that I have learned from the module in creating the video.

That’s all for this week’s entry. Bye...

12th week

Time flies very fast. I feel like just entered this semester but it’s already the 12th week. Yes, we are in the 12th week of resources class too. Last week was about editing pictures using various tools and software. Not to be forgotten that there are tasks to be completed after the module. This week, Pn Foziah is going to check the task 2 which is the ebook. Before doing so, Pn Foziah showed us some of the ebooks that have been done by her students. The ebooks are very interesting, colourful and of course it is attractive. Pn Foziah also reminded us on some important thing about the ebooks.

She reminded us

- to chose good quality pictures

- to insert the navigation keys

- to insert sound

- to have a theme, characterization and plot

After that, Pn Foziah went around checking all the ebooks and gave her comments and opinion. The comments given by her is very useful to improve the ebooks. Later on, Pn Foziah gave 2 sets of module which is the continuation of module 2. These two sets are continuation of module 2 using the adobe photoshop CS3 software. It is quite lot, but I am sure that we will learn something new from those tutorials.

Later, Pn Foziah asked the class to move forward to the front of the class because she wanted to show us some examples on video editing. She showed the edited video of Chun and Ella. The videos are really wonderful and it gives a basic idea to me on how video editing works and its product. Although we do not get the module 4 yet, Pn Foziah asked us to choose a theme for our video editing task. My partner and I chosed ‘Humanity’ as our theme and we really hope to create a meaningful video soon.

That’s all for this week, bye.

11th Week

This week’s class is a continuation on the tasks of module 2 which is the photo editing. Pn Foziah showed her collection of edited photos. The photos are really amazing and it does carry a message or story as what Pn Foziah asked us to do. Although it is just a single piece of photo, the message is very clear and interesting. Hope I can edit a photo which carries a story too. Next, she also reminded us to place our name or signature on the edited photos. This is to show ownership and to avoid others from plagiarizing our edited pictures or photos.

After that, Pn Foziah asked us to work back on our photos and create a more meaningful photo rather than simply adjusting the brightness, cropping adding text and so on. From the input given by Pn Foziah and her collection, I decided to combine 2 pictures. Yes I decided to make a superimpose photo of myself in opera house. As Pn Foziah reminded, I have included my name in the photo to show the ownership. Below is the original and the edited photo.

That’s all for this week’s entry, See you all in the next entry. Bye…

10th Week

Week 10, It’s the submission week for the lesson plans and also the teaching aids that we have been working on since before Raya holidays. Fuh!, it is a big relief to complete the entire task and submit it.
Next, we used today’s class to complete the remaining of module 2. As we all know, module 2 is about photo editing and it is really an exciting task. While working on the task, suddenly Pn.Foziah asked us to view our senior’s photo editing collection. I was amazed looking at the product. Photos are beautifully edited and the editing is very neat as well. There were about 280 photos and I viewed all of them. It was a tour of photo editing for me. From the module 2, I have learned how to edit photos, and now I have learned where and how to apply it.

After that, Pn Foziah gave a task for module 3. First is to create a ringtone. Next to cut and combine 2 songs and lastly to edit M.Nasir and Siti’s dua insan song. The submission of module 3 and the task is on 28th September.

9th Week

Pn. Foziah is away this week but she had already assigned the task for this week. It’s MODULE 2. Module 2 is about editing pictures. As in the previous modules, this module does require some software such as Adobe photoshop. Adobe photoshop CS3, Photoscape, Iphoto, ACDsee, Microsoft paint, Photobucket and Triscape Fxphoto.

This module is also exciting as the module 3. There are many things that can be done to the photos using the software above. The pictures can be cropped, resized and we can reduce noise, adjust brightness, add text and frame and many more. Adding frame to the photos captured my attention as the Photoscape software provides wonderful frames to be added to our photos. I have used the software to edit some of the pictures in my own collection too.
Since this is the first time I am using most of the software, I do face some difficulties. Firstly, I found difficulties to identify the icon mentioned in the module. It was quite hard as some of the modules just show the icon but does not show where to look for the icon. Secondly, I found difficulties in making the effects as mentioned in the module. This module requires a lot of patience as I need to explore the functions of the software in order to complete the software. If one step is missed, the expected effect will not turn out. After a long exploration on the software, I managed to identify all the icons and complete the tutorials.

For the time being, I have completed most of the tutorials and I am still working on the rest. The deadline for this module is 27th September 2010 and I really hope to complete it before the deadline because we will be receiving another module on the 27th.

8th Week

There is no class for this week BUT there are a lot of things to be done. Firstly, we have to complete module 3 which is about audio editing. Next, Pn. Foziah assigned us to prepare 3 half an hour lesson and a 1 one hour lesson. Lastly week need to prepare teaching aids.

When I saw module 3, there was a small relief in me because this module is not as thick as the module 1. Module 3 is basically about audio editing using software such as Audacity, Wavepad, Sony Vegas, Karaoke Anything, Music Editor, Nero Wave and lastly Sound Forge. Fuh!!! It seems that there are a lot of software to be explored in order to complete module 3.

Working on this module is much more exciting and fun compared to module 1. This is because in module 3, we are creating something on our own not merely getting something from the internet. Through module 3, I have learned how to make ringtones, making minus one, changing speed, cut songs, combine 2 songs and many more. That was really exciting and fun working with this module.

The next task assigned to us was the lesson plan. We were required to prepare four continuous lesson plans for a particular year. My group have chosen Year 4 as the target group and the topic was about food.

Lastly, we were also required to choose a topic from the syllabus for each year (year 1 to 6) and prepare teaching aids. The teaching aids include both technological and non-technological materials. Since the teaching aids are prepared for young kids, we used colourful and attractive pictures, videos, powerpoint presentations, puppets, task sheets, and big book.

In conclusion, lesson plans and teaching aids are very essential in carrying out a lesson successfully. Therefore we have prepared appropriate lessons and teaching aids which can really aid in carrying out the lesson.